bravenewworld | Magnitude 9

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Magnitude 9

[It is almost precisely 2AM when the first earthquake hits.

The ground vibrates dully at first, like the rumble of construction machinery or the shaking of a heavy Pokémon coming down the streets. In the throes of sleep, it seems unalarming, if a bit out of the ordinary. Worse than this has occurred in the past.

Then the walls shake. Paintings tilt and sway and objects teeter and fall off the shelves, one after another. The ground shifts underfoot and a cautious step out of bed only succeeds in sending the frightened sleeper reeling to the floor.

High up in the sky, the towers sway. An infinitesimal amount at first, but any amount of swaying is terrifying, unfathomable, an event so utterly wrong it is inconceivable that it could be happening. The tilting progresses, becomes noticeable, measurable, and it can only be hoped that it is a reflection of a panicked imagination rather than reality.

After an eternity, the rumbling dies down...

Just when it seems safe to investigate, about a half hour after the quake began, the Warp Band flares to life. A voice speaks - it can be heard, too, from outdoors, issuing from the emergency broadcast system. It is a woman's voice, speaking briskly, efficiently, holding no trace of fear or panic.]

Effective immediately, the Council has issued a state of emergency for Union. This is not a drill or an exercise. All citizens, please be prepared to follow standard residential tower emergency procedures; all relevant instructions are posted on every floor. For the majority of citizens, this means to stay in place and to take shelter until the quakes are confirmed to be over. Do not attempt to evacuate unless instructed to do so now or unless severe injury has been sustained.

This message is for Towers D and E of Sector 3 and the Cloud Towers in Sector 5. Again, this message is for Towers D and E of Sector 3 and the Cloud Towers of Sector 5. The gas lines have ruptured, and all residents should prepare for immediate evacuation. Swords and Guardsmen assigned to these sectors should proceed immediately to their stations to assist. Further instruction will be given by officers on site. Again, residents of all other towers should stay in place at this time.

Entrance 2 to the Old City has collapsed and Entrances 3 and 5 have been severely damaged. Again, the Industrial District entrance has collapsed and the Habitat and the Southern Wall entrances have been damaged. At this time, a large number of wild Pokémon are seeking entrance into Union from all other entrances. Rangers and remaining Guardsmen, please report to these areas to begin containment measures. Be prepared for potential aggression.

All medical personnel trained in Emergency Medicine, report to the Medical Center if and when possible. All Habitat employees with Level 2 clearance and above, report to the Habitat Tower to initiate emergency stabilization protocols.

All citizens, please stay alert for further information. Major aftershocks are predicted to continue for the next six hours, and damage assessments will be ongoing. Be ready for further quakes and be prepared to contact emergency services if an emergency situation is seen developing.

[She cuts off with alacrity. An uneasy echo hangs in the air after she concludes...]

((This post may be used as a mingle thread to address any of the issues raised within. You may also make your individual posts at this time. Responses may be addressed in regards to the initial emergency situation, or forward dated to address the assessment of damage after the first major quake. The wild Pokémon will not stop coming, and the aftershocks will continue for long after six hours.

Characters may follow instructions but may also feel free to move around at will and help however they can. Actions taken throughout this event will be noted and may affect the status of Union after the end of the event.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Tonight was going fairly well until that stupid quake! RUDE! There was a banquet at another residence so most of the staff were given the evening, and it took Natalie and her consort out of residence, by the time they both returned home they were more than ready for bed in a way that made it clear they wouldn't wake up for anything. (Which the Earthquake proved, after some mild panic.)

Because Imogen so rarely got to use the greenhouse for her own... consorting, with Fai Flourite. ...It also thankfully meant they were not standing up when the quake hit.

Once the two begrudingly got dressed, Imogen quickly decided the best place for her was down at one of the entrances to the old city. It's dark, everyone is scared, and if someone can't bridge the gap between the Guards and the Wild ones there'll be a lot more hurt than are needed. So regardless of delvers not being called down there, Imogen was going. ...And Fai wouldn't let her go alone, and she didn't want to argue.

Imogen was full of energy when she got down to the entrance and quickly talked her way through a few of the City Guard, whipping words at them like quick attacks until they stupidly agreed to pretty much all she said about why she was useful down here and they let her by. And she started trying to control the influx of refugees in a way that they didn't flood the streets, but weren't trouble enough to warrant attacking.

Come bother her if you dare, but any of that playful Imogen you're used to is hiding while business is taken care of.

It had been a rather brusque summoning back to reality, and not even the reality of the everyday city either. The shaking of the earth was... well, terrifying, made him think of collapsed rooms and dusty air choking him, but apart from going very pale he doesn't say anything about it. And when Imogen immediately heads off towards danger, it is almost a relief to focus on not letting her go alone, looking after his friend. And that way... well, he won't have to go alone either, will he?

At in the gloom it rather helps to have luminescent skin, and an exertion of will is all that it takes for him to glow a little brighter. And despite some slight unease, he can still feel his heart beating in excitement. "It looks as if they've got something pretty scary to flee from. Do you think maybe parts of the Inner City might be collapsing on them?"

"Stay behind me, mostly because I'm trying to see and you're glowing." She omits 'and not in the fun way' because they are in public and things are liable to get complicated. There are too many people here that might... report. Plus, work. She scans over the Pokemon trying to listen and see what they're on about as they rush out. "Nobody's talking about what happened, just that it isn't safe. Some are looking for specific members of their packs... look my gifts don't exactly work for crowds."

Imogen moved closer to the crowds of rushing Pokemon to push toward specific areas to try and organize this mess. Imogen put her foot down and let her energy gather, "Everyone! I know that you're scared, but please stay near the entrance, try to group by your species so you can find anyone you're missing. We will try to help, if any of you are injured please allow us to help whatever way we can."

Pleasedon'tletsomemoronstartafight, pleasedon'tletsomemoronstartafight...

They had been to the surface before, to the strange, bright world where the human-things lived, but never in such a hurry. It was crowded and chaotic this time, and they could feel where they would hurt later, could feel the exhaustion that was lying in wait for the fading of adrenaline.

And then a human was talking to everyone, trying to organize them. Humans could be helpful sometimes, they both thought. If you looked at them sadly, they could give you food, or put things on your wounds to clean and close them.

Yes, the things humans carried were very helpful. And with the disaster that had struck, couldn't they use a little help?

Teamwork, as it always had been for them, was key. One remained in the crowd of Pokemon near the gate, making pitiful noises to get the talking-human's attention while the other circled behind, trying to see where she kept anything worth taking.

He doesn't want to mess with Imogen's night vision, he really doesn't, and he can tell that she is both much more useful and much more in control in a situation like this, so he dutifully hangs back. He isn't much for bravado in any case, and letting his ego become bruised over someone else being better at handling something like this is silly.

However, he is also a rather impulsive creature, and easily appealed to by vulnerability. So while the intention might've been to grab Imogen's attention, Fai rather immediately picks up on the pitiful mewling - and while he might be rather good at picking up deception from humans, with pokémon he does tend to be a lot more gullible.

Meaning that of course he'll approach the creature, forgetting all about the importance of hanging back in favor of the downright hypnotic power of a sad kitten. At least he's not dumb enough to try to get too close or touch a possibly frightened pokémon, but kneels some distance away, holding out his hand in a sort of greeting. "Hello there, little one. Are you hurt?" Meaningless noises, really, but in a soft voice so as not to startle.

Imogen smiled politely to the kitten she could see, "That's really cute of you to try, but we're very much alike." Some Pokemon needed a gentle hand, some needed a friend, some needed to know that they were not nearly so clever as they assumed. Dark Types were best at appearing... unassuming, whenever possible.

...Of course, it didn't help that Fai couldn't see the subtle differences between 'in pain' and 'oh woe is me, woe is me, let down your guard.' "Fai," Imogen shielded her eyes from his glowing. He wasn't as bad as Lux's light sources, but it was still distracting, "Kitties are playing with you."

The one who'd stayed unhidden had to make a call. Did they abandon these targets, or double down?

And on a good day, it would have been the former--they'd just have been playing, would have had no real investment in anything beyond their own amusement. It would have been easy to wait for other, easier marks.

But with the memory of crashing rocks so fresh, with the earth still trembling on and off, nothing felt safe. They had to grab whatever resources they could--for each other, for themselves--and every moment felt crucial.

"Try what? Don't understand..." The creature took a limping step towards Fai, looking up at him with surprisingly unfeigned hope and worry. If the girl got distracted scolding her friend, she would still be paying attention to the wrong thing when they struck, right?

Edited 2014-01-26 19:00 (UTC)

Fai does hesitate momentarily at Imogen's words, because he knows that this is sort of her area of expertise - especially since this girl is so very obviously a Dark type. But the fact is still that they're in the middle of a crisis and all the pokémon are panicking, and this one sought them out. She must've had a reason.

"Well, even if she's trying to trick us, it's probably because she wants something, right?" Fai reaches out until he can tentatively brush his fingers against her side, his shirt pulled up to his knuckles so it won't hurt too much if she decides to scratch his hand. "And she does look like she needs some help. So I don't really mind being played that much, see?"

"Yeah, to steal whatever they can use. They're hurt and you're easy." Imogen's didn't have time for this, if they take supplies she needs she'll either have to let the supplies go or hurt these two to keep them here. And she was having trouble seeing because Fai was incredibly glowy.

"Brighteyes, if either of them moves, do something." She wasn't exactly sure where her partner was at the moment, but she was sure his Swift would make sure they keep still. Imogen closed her eyes to talk to the one she had eyes on. "I do want to help, but I don't have time for any games, you try to steal from me, or hurt my friend, we give you nothing. And whatever you steal might not be what you need, okay? There are a lot of you in trouble, and I don't have time for this."

That was not the answer they wanted. She made a displeased noise, leaning into the tall human's hand.

"Why hurt him? This one is kind." And gullible. Off to Imogen's side, her sibling hesitated, tail flickering in annoyance. Couldn't she see that they needed... Whatever it was the humans carried?

To Fai, it honestly didn't matter if they did steal something or not, and it wouldn't hurt his pride that much to be duped for someone else's sake. But Imogen certainly had a point in that whatever they stole might be completely useless to them, and might even do more harm than good. "Well, how about attracting more Bug-types with honey than with repelling spray?" he suggested mildly.

Withdrawing his hand a bit so that he could activate his Warp Band, he aimed it at the creature in front of him. Imogen had implied they were more than one, so Fai tried to convey that if its friend would show itself, they could look at them and give them all the help needed. Even look after them to make sure nothing scary happened to them. It was a rather complicated thought to get across, but Fai did his best, trying especially to focus on safety and generosity, hoping this implied how unnecessary it was to steal in the first place.

"Kind, yes, but you care more about his trust. Which if you abuse I will not take kindly." Even as Imogen's eyes adjusted back to their normal dark color, there was no sense she was bluffing. Imogen understood Pokemon well enough, but she did not stand this sort of behavior in anyone.

"That's a good thought, but if we're soft on them they will just assume that stealing is the right and proper way to go about things. If they asked, I would happily help them, but right now they continue to play this game," Imogen glanced slightly to the direction an Eevee call came from, oh by the way that's Brighteyes telling her the location of your hidden sibling. "And your partner should just come out now, I know where you are now anyway so your trick won't work. How about we talk about this? And you can get the help you need without stealing or lying?"

Apollo lived quite close to the Southern Wall entrance, but with it damaged, he and his grandfather had split up and went to the two next closest entrances. For once, Apollo was wearing his Ranger uniform for something other than an official event. It had been his grandfather's suggestion, and it had proved immediately useful, getting people in the streets to step out of his way when they noticed him running and the guards around the entrance to let him through with a nod, though there were still some double-takes when they realized how young he was.

Apollo ran up to her, not panting despite having jogged so far, with a Hippopotas and a Deerling following behind him. He immediately began projecting a sense of calmness at the crowd, noting as he touched their minds that they considered Imogen's orders as coming from a Kindred Soul. He began mentally directing them as well, reinforcing Imogen's work.

"Have they said anything about what they're running from?"

"Yeah, an earthquake," Imogen wasn't trying to be cute, that's what she could get from the ones she knew better. The more... skittish, were ones from tunnels she didn't frequent as much. She had to put her focus into keeping order before she tried too hard for answers. "Most of the ones I know are from closer to the surface, they don't... well, they don't have anymore specifics."

Imogen gently places her palm near a Grimer, clearly not appreciating such proximity to a pure poison, but is working on healing some non-obvious wounds, the sort of thing you miss when you look at a Pokemon that lacks a solid body, "Thanks, they need the calm right now. Before someone does something everyone regrets."

"It won't stop anyone who's determined to cause trouble - I can't force anyone to do anything - but it usually at least stops panicking. I've never tried to send feelings to so many at once though, so I don't know how well this will work. There's already going to be problems with all of them moving into other people's territories and trying to find food and shelter, but any fights breaking out in this crowd would get a lot of people hurt."

He starts mentally calling for any injured to come over to the humans so that they could give whatever help they can and a small but still discouragingly large percentage of the flow diverts towards them. He crouches down and lays his hand on them as they approach. This is probably not a good idea, considering how the healing ability of a Child of the Verdant Forest works, but Apollo's too focused on making sure they're all safe to think about that right away. He makes a mental request of Hippopotas and Deerling, and the two of them start trying to direct the traffic a bit. Hippopotas gives his all, barking out directions and getting decent results, while Deerling quietly and politely requests compliance and is mostly ignored.

"I wasn't talking about the wild ones," Everyone is terrified, but she finds Pokemon far easier to understand in a crisis. People always get so... territorial, especially when they have room to share. She pulled her hand away as soon as she was done, "Okay, trying to heal things that resist me is a bad plan. And you're doing fine keep... keep it low, like, like the tempo of a song! There but unobtrusive."

Imogen rubbed her brow, her healing powers were fairy based, she was at her strongest in the dead of night and a clear sky above. But if she kept working her magic on the poison and steel she'd collapse well before this was done, so that was probably a bad plan. "There are other healers out here, ones that aren't fairies? I really can't use my powers like that again."

"Type doesn't matter for me; I'm a Child of the Verdant Forest. Just keep an eye out for anyone who you can heal safely."

Apollo glanced up at the sky for a moment in between healing Pokémon.

"Fletchling can see more humans coming this way, but there's no way for him to tell if any of them are healers. Who were you talking about?"

"Yeah, but it's better to keep the wild ones calm if we can't work that over on the Guards, Rangers, and Delvers not quite so... understanding of Pokemon, like we are." One thing that separated the Kindred, Shifters, and the Verdant from the others was being a step closer to the Pokemon than everyone else. The old world fell when Humans claimed it all for themselves, and Imogen sometimes heard that sentiment in people in the city, and it hurt.

"I hope we get some more Kindred, so we can better organize everything going on here. Not that, you know, your powers aren't really good here, but... if we have to rely on wild ones agreeing to the Warp Bands..."

Apollo nodded slightly.

"Grandpa says that humans who only see Pokémon from outside Union when they're attacking the city can't understand how they could be anything other than a threat. I think that if they met more of them when they aren't attacking anyone then they would understand them better, but even if no one from the Old City attacks anyone this is probably too many at once."

He was starting to feel a bit tired from the healing already, but didn't show it.

"Do they normally not like the Warp Bands? The only times I've ever used them on a Pokémon it's been with someone I already knew."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Magnitude 9

Action/Entrance 4 - (Open)

Rudest earthquake B|

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Let's all pretend I have a good icon for NPCing Pokemon!

Everyone in this game needs a pokemon NPC icon, someone get on that

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